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NessoAsks

@nessoasks.bsky.social

Maker, writer, software developer, oblique thinker, science geek, seeker of valuable questions.

71 Posts40 Follower 36 Folgt

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 10h ago

Good news: I got the electronics mounted back in the box. Bad news: I added the relay directly above one of my mounting points, so I can't use it. Go ahead, say it - I have a screw loose. #Maker

On a piece of light brown plywood sits a small white box. In the box is an electronics package consisting of a red LumiDrive, a black USB power supply, and a black Featherwing latching relay.

In the lower left corner, the USB power cord extends out of frame. At about the middle of the picture, a white alligator clip connects to the ground wire of the power supply, and extends out of frame.

Some blue painter's tape appears in the lower right corner, holding the USB cable in place so it doesn't torque the electronics.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2d ago

I added a Featherwing latching relay to the electronics package for this piece which will allow me to turn some of the LEDs on and off via software. Yes, I just re-invented the light switch. In my defense, the relay makes the most satisfying click when it switches. #Maker #ASMRElectronics

On a dark grey non-static work pad sits a red LumiDrive, with a USB-C cable coming out of its port on the left. Above and to the left of the LumiDrive is black USB power supply.

Above and slightly to the right of the LumiDrive is a black Latching Relay Featherwing.

There are several wires (red, white, blue, and green) connecting these three components together.

At the extreme top is a black multimeter probe, currently connected to a white wire stick up and out of frame.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 5d ago

The beacons are lit! I got all three LED rings wired in, and I'm happy to report that I didn't use a single alligator clip this time. #Maker

On a light brown plywood back lie three 2-inch LED rings, wired up in series, going from the foreground to the background. The rings are lit up with a rainbow of colors.

In the extreme foreground sits the red Lumidrive and USB power input that drive the rings.

The Lumidrive is connected to the first LED ring with a series of four grey and orange lever wire connectors.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last wk.

It's time for a side quest! FIVE side quests, actually. My intended next step was to mark out where the LED trenches would be placed in the plywood backing, but I accumulated several unanswered questions of how things were going to actually fit together. I made a list. #Maker

A notebook lies on a dark grey work surface. The notebook is open to a page which has a title of "Problems to Solve", with five questions:

* How to run the wires to connect the 3 towers?
* How to align the trenches so they line up with the front matte?
* Will I see a good diffusion of the light?
* Will there be any shadows to address?
* How will I attach the towers to the bases?

By each question is a red checkbox, currently unchecked. Under each question are some notes about how I think I can solve the problem.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last wk.

I attached the LED strips I prepared to the inner track of the "ledges", which will sit down in the trenches (not shown). Because the strips are oriented vertically, I can bend them around the curve of the ledge smoothly. #Maker #3DPrinting

On a dark grey work surface lies a white, 3D-printed piece, shaped like a letter "J". The cross-section of the J is an upside-down letter "L", so the top forms a ledge.

Attached to the bottom of the piece is an LED strip, attached to the "J" vertically via an adhesive. The LED strip has a white backing, with copper pads between each LED on the strip. The LEDs are covered by a yellow film that diffuses the light.

On the left of the picture, two wires (one red and one white) are shown soldered to the end of the strip. The wires are bent at a 90-degree angle, pointing to the "inside" of the letter "J".

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2w ago

To prepare the LED strips, I've surface-soldered wires to one end of each strip. I've pre-bent the wire to form a 90-degree angle to the strip so that when attached they'll go "down" and away from the line. (The reason for that will make more sense in an upcoming update.) #Maker

Two pieces of LED strip are shown, partially curled up on a dark grey work surface. Each strip has two wires soldered onto the ends - one white and one red. The wires are bent at a 90-degree angle so that if the strip is laid flat on the table with the LEDs facing down, the wires would go straight up.

A close-up of one of the LED strips partially curled up, laying on a dark grey work surface. This shows how the two wires (white and red) soldered onto the ends, and bent down and away from the strip itself.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2w ago

I'll be attaching a single strip of LEDs to the three pieces of ledging that make up the inside curve of the trench (shown dry-fitted on the right). To hold everything together temporarily, I've attached the three pieces with painter's tape (left side). #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

The picture features two curved pieces of white 3D-printed "trench". Each piece looks like an upside-down letter "J" (or an all white candy cane).

The one on the right has just the trench, plus the three pieces of "ledge" that form the inside of the curve.

The one on the left is just those three pieces of ledge, attached on the inside with blue painter's tape.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2w ago

I did a dry fit of the trench "ledges" that will be used to suspend the diffusion film above the LED strip. Didn't quite get the measurements perfect where the bases come together, though. I think I can still work with that. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

A shot looking down at both trenches laid out on a dark grey work surface. When assembled as shown on the right, the trench will look like a white letter "J", with four small, square, mounting posts at various points around the outside.

The trench on the left has all of its components pieces laid out - the two pieces making up the base of the trench are in the center, and the six pieces that form the "ledges" where the diffusion film will be suspended. These six pieces will be mounted vertically along the inside of the trench base.

A close-up of where two sets of the ledges come together. One set is a millimeter higher than the other set.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 3w ago

I didn't start out trying to create a knolling pic, but here we are. I got all pieces of both trenches printed. Now I just have to clean them up. Ugh. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

On a dark grey work surface are two sets of white, 3D-printed parts. Some are curved and some are straight. Some of them have the cross section of a trench, while the rest are "shelves" that will fit down into the trench, and allow me to suspend a piece of diffusion film across the top.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 3w ago

The trench, version 2. Aside from being nearly twice as wide, I printed these white to better reflect the light and added the mounting holes. Each of the white sections is Part 1 of 3. I hope to have the other two pieces designed and printed by the end of the week. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

On a grey work surface are four pieces of 3D-printed "trench". On the left are the two original v1 prototypes, printed in grey. One is a straight piece laid out horizontally on the works surface, nearly 20cm long, 1.8cm wide with 1mm walls. the other piece on the left has the same basic dimensions, but is curved to look like the letter "J".

On the right are the version 2 iterations, printed in white. All of the dimensions are the same except the width - they are nearly twice as wide. These also have small tabs that protrude from the main structure. Each tab has a hole in it. These will be how I attach them to the rest of the piece.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 3w ago

I need the LEDs to form a smooth curve, so I created these frames in #FreeCad. The LEDs will sit down in this "trench", along the inside wall. This first version is too narrow, though. I'll need to make them wider to let more light through. That's why we prototype, kids! #Maker #3DPrinting

An oblique shot of a grey, 3D-printed trench sitting on a dark grey work surface. The trench is nearly 10mm wide at the base and has walls that are 20mm tall. The trench is curved 180 degrees, forming a half-circle, with one end extending off out of frame to the right.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 4w ago

I found a different LED strand, this one has clear points to cut and reconnect it, and it has a diffusion layer built right in. It's also much brighter than the previous. I still have some work to do, but this gets me closer to a final solution. #Maker

A split image.

On the left is a strand of LEDs, lit up in a yellowish-white, laying on top of a light brown workbendh.

On the right is the same strand, unlit. A portion of the strand is facing the camera in the foreground, showing repeating segments, designed to allow you to cut the strand to length.

Each segment is denoted with a vertical line, partially visible. This is the line that you would cut the segment to length. On each side of every segment are copper pads - points where you would solder wires to complete the circuit. On the tops of each segment are "+5V" (plus 5 volt) pads, and on the bottoms are "GND" (ground) pads.

in the background is more of the LED strand, coiled up on a light brown workbench.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 4w ago

I figured out how to wire the LED rope, but this was as white as I could make it. Additionally, when I cut it, there was no clear way to attach new leads. I should have researched it better and gotten cuttable AND connectable rope. #Maker

A light brown work bench is partially in the upper left corner by a dark grey work surface. On the work surface is a length of coiled LED rope, lit up in a light blue. Going off to the right are four alligator clips powering the rope - white, green red, and black. The alligator clips are taped down with blue painter's tape so they don't accidentally move and short each other out.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

I need to make a couple of turns with the LEDs. But as you saw in the last progress pic, wiring up segments of LED strips would leave a broken-up look. LED neon "rope" gives a smoother look, so I think I need to pivot. Now I just need to figure out how to wire them up to the Lumidrive. #Maker

A string of lavender LEDs, encased in a white diffusion sleeve, is curled up and sitting on top of a dark grey work surface.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

I need to create curves with LEDs. My original plan was to use daisy-chained segments of LED strips. That would lead to segments of light, defined by the length of each strip (left), even when under a second layer of diffusion film (right). I need a different solution to smooth out the bends. #Maker

A split photo.

On the left is a small strip of LED lights on a work surface, lit up in a light purple. The wires for the lights are coming out above it, and are connected by alligator clips to the power source (not shown). An orange curly bracket was added to the photo, illustrating where the light stops on each end of the strip.

On the right side is a red light source under a layer of diffusion film. The film is suspended in a circular "tower" that sits on top of the light source. The effect is a red circle with a more intense red oval in the center. The light source is the same small strip of LEDs. The wires for it are shown coming out of the tower on the top.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

With a little help from my younger kiddo, I got the other two bases mounted to the plywood. I was planning to mount the electronics box at the same time, but there are some changes on that front. More on that later. #Maker

A piece of light brown plywood with some additional blocks of wood attached around the border. Three pairs of black nuts on top of silver washers can be seen protruding from the back of the board. Each pair runs horizontally, with the pairs arranged in a diagonal with respect to the rest of the box.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

I attached the first base to the plywood! The LumiDrive will connect to the grey & orange lever connectors at the bottom. I have a battery-powered book light illuminating the inside of the tower, which allows me to check the alignment with the front design. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

A white cylinder sits on a piece of light brown plywood. The cylinder has a piece of diffusion fil stretched across the top, which obscures the small book light I have inside.

At the bottom of the frame are four grey and orange lever connectors. One side of the levers connect to wires (not visible) that come out of the tower. The other side are open, and will connect to wires that come off of the LumiDrive processor that will drive the light sequence.

On the left side of the picture there is a black USB cable laying on the plywood.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

When you're testing a new electrical contraption and you smell smoke... that's bad, right? My side-quest to build an adapter to convert surface-mount solder points into through-hole points was not successful at this time. Back to surface-soldering! #Maker

A dark grey, non-static mat lays on top of a light brown work bench. There is a white partial-box with a red Lumidrive micro-processor inside on the mat in the foreground. It's connected via a series of colored alligator wires to a 2-inch diameter LED ring in the background, also on the mat.

In the extreme background is another light brown work bench with an assortment of other tools.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

I designed the adapter to be a low-enough profile that it would fit below the ring while it was mounted to the white base. I forgot, however, to build in clearance for the base's mounting holes. I'll need to carve out a few millimeters of room for them. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

A white, 3D-printed base sits on a dark grey work surface. The base is 10cm in diameter and 3mm thick. A 2-inch diameter LED ring sits on top of the base. Between the ring and the base is a light grey, 3D-printed adapter that clamps 6 wires to the surface mount pads on the underside of the ring.

There are 6 wires coming off the ring going to the lower left of the frame - 2 green, 2 blue, a white, and a red.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · last mo.

Trying out the Prototype 9 adapter. The screws serve to both clamp the adapter and the wires to the LED ring, and to keep everything lined up. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

A 2-inch diameter LED ring sits on a dark grey work surface. Below the ring is a light grey, 3D-printed adapter that clamps 6 wires to the surface mount pads on the underside of the ring.

There are 6 wires coming off the ring going to the lower left of the frame - 2 green, 2 blue, a white, and a red.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Me: Are you sure you're not trying to commit insurance fraud, Nutmeg? Nutmeg: Of course not, hoo-man. I'm comfortable here. Me being a tripping hazard sounds like a "you" problem. #Bunny #Bunnies #Rabbit #Rabbits

A view of a living room with a recliner on the left, a white cabinet, and a series of wire-mesh gates that bisect the room, keeping our two bunnies separate. A black bunny is sprawled on the floor in the center of the shot.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

If you don't see any differences between prototypes 3-8, don't worry. I was adjusting the placements of the holes by millimeters (and sometimes less). Now we'll see if prototype 9 can clamp the wires onto the LED ring. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

On a dark grey work surface lay 9 light grey, 3D-printed clamping prototypes lined up going left to right. Each one is numbered.

The first is a square 20mm on a side and 3mm thick.

The second is a half-circle that is roughly 45mm in diameter with a small "handle" sticking off the left side.

Prototypes 3-8 are slightly more than a half-circle and are only 1mm thick.

Prototype 9 is slightly more than a half-circle, is 3mm thick, and has the handle sticking off the left side.

Prototypes 2-9 have three holes (top, left and bottom) to attach to the LED ring.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Side Quest: Can I build a bracket that allows me to attach wires to the LED ring without going through the process of surface mounting? Can I prevent ruining the pad when I brush past one of the surface-mounted wires? Asking for a friend. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

My first bracket prototype sits on a dark grey work surface (crisscrossed with scratches). The bracket is a square piece of 3D-printed plastic, 20mm on a side and 3mm thick, with four grooves on the top that run the full width of the piece.

In each groove is a wire. The bare copper has been pressed into the groove, holding it in place (barely). From top to bottom, the wires are colored white, green, red, and blue.

Abilu Tangwa.@abilutangwa.bsky.social · 2mo ago

10 Reasons to Love Solar Power 1. Zero CO₂ to run 2.Infinite fuel 3.sunlight 4Cuts air pollution 5.Creates local jobs 6.Low water use 7.Price keeps dropping 8.Powers homes + grids 9. Works off-grid too 10. Energy independence Future-proof tech

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I got the side cut off to allow the USB cables to enter (slot in the foreground), and got the electronics mounted. The M3 screws I'm using were too big to fit the holes on the USB power source (blue piece in front), so I could only add them to the red LumiDrive. Grr. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

A white 3d-printed box sits on a dark grey work surface.

The box has no top, only the floor and the sides. It has two sections of the walls cut out - one in the background to allow four wires to exit, and one in the foreground to allow for the USB power cables to enter.

Inside the box are two printed circuit boards - a small USB power converter sits in the foreground, and a larger red LumiDrive sits in the background. The two boards are connected by red and white wires.

In the background, poking out of the board, are four wires (white, green, blue, and red) that will lead to the LEDs.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I 3D-printed a custom box for the electronics. The four risers with the heat-set inserts are the mounting points for everything. Of course I realized after the fact that I didn't leave a hole for the power cable to plug in. *facepalm* I'll fix that in post. With a saw. #Maker #FreeCad #3DPrinting

A white rectangular box sits on a dark grey work surface. The box has a portion of the wall removed from the upper right corner to allow for the wires that will lead to the LED lights.

There are four risers at the bottom of the box at various points. Each riser is 6mm tall with a 5.5mm outer radius. Mounted in each riser is a brass heat-set insert, threaded for a M3 screw.

There are also 3 small holes in the bottom of the box. These are what I will use to mount the box to the bottom of the piece I'm working on.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I got all of the diffusion channels cut. Each one is fit to a specific strip of LEDs. The LEDs will slide into the base of the channel so that the light will be scattered through the top. Now I gotta cut all the wires - 4 for each junction between strips. Sigh. #Maker

On a dark grey work surface, there are 10 LED strips of varying lengths, some vertical and some horizontal. Next to each LED strip is a similar length of white diffusion channel.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Bunnies are machines that turn hay into chaos. #Bunny #Bunnies #Rabbit #Rabbits

A near-floor level picture of a white rabbit with red eyes, black ears, and a black nose. The rabbit is to the right of the picture, eating out of a red and white ceramic bowl.

To the left of the shot and further into the background is a grey litter box. Litter has been kicked out by the rabbit onto the rugs on the floor. There are also several small toys, and several small black poops scattered around on the floor.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I cut these sections of LED strip weeks ago, but this weekend I got all of the connections prepped for soldering. #Maker

A dark grey work surface with many scratches on it lies on a light brown workbench. On the work surface are 10 pieces of LED strips, ranging in sides from 2 LEDs to 12 LEDs. The 4 connection points on each end of each strip now have a small bead of solder.

NessoAsks @nessoasks.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I got the painted acrylic face-piece attached to the frame using wood screws and finishing washers. The combination looks a little like rivets, which lends a nice industrial look to the piece. I'm very happy with how this turned out! #Maker

A piece of wood runs diagonally through the image, going from the upper left to lower right corners. The wood is capped by a piece of acrylic with diffusion film on top, painted solid black.

In the center of the image is a silver finished washing with a silver Phillips-head screw in the center.